MLK Symposium to examine Ebola outbreak, other global social issues

Dr. Mosoka Fallah will speak in the Dow Auditorium on Monday, Jan. 16 as part of the 31st annual MLK Symposium.

Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and with it comes an opportunity to examine and reflect upon recent social changes both in the university community and across the globe.

In conjunction with the holiday, U-M and Michigan Medicine have a number of exciting events planned over the next few weeks to honor the legacy and work of Dr. King.

The events that make up the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium will bolster the university’s efforts to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. They are open to all members of the U-M community. Michigan Medicine faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.

Most events will take place on Monday, which features the MLK Health Sciences lecture to be given by Mosoka Fallah, Ph.D, MA, MPH, who has been leading the fight against the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, which claimed nearly 5,000 lives between March 2014 and April 2015.

In his presentation, Fallah will offer a first-hand perspective on the issue of war and its impact on health care infrastructure and disease management. “The thing about [Ebola] that is even more deadly than war is that the enemy is the person you love the most,” Fallah said. “It can be your mom or your husband or your children.”

On a daily basis, Fallah acts as a vital bridge between community leaders and the health ministry in Liberia. In his lecture, he will review and assess the impact of the mobilization efforts in his home country to manage and reduce morbidity and mortality at the hands of Ebola.

The lecture is scheduled to run from noon until 2 p.m. in the Dow Auditorium on the second floor of University Hospital. No registration is required.

Other MLK symposium highlights include:

Issa Rae, Amy Goodman deliver MLK Symposium keynote

Golden Globe-nominated actress Issa Rae and “Democracy Now!” host Amy Goodman will deliver the 31st Annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium keynote memorial lecture. The lecture will take place Monday, Jan. 16 at 10 a.m. at Hill Auditorium.

Fab 5 member Ray Jackson tapped as keynote speaker for Trotter Lecture

Ray Jackson is most famous for being part of the Fab 5 — U-M’s historic 1991 men’s college basketball recruiting class. But most recently, Jackson’s visits to U-M’s campus have been more about discussing the social climate than picking up a basketball.

Author to discuss black women who helped U.S. win space race

Margot Lee Shetterly sheds light on the true story of the “human computers” who used math to change their own lives and their country’s future in her book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.”

Junot Diaz to give Institute for Social Research lecture

Renowned author Junot Diaz will deliver the 2017 Institute for Social Research MLK Lecture at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 18 in the Rackham Auditorium. He is author of “Drown,” “This is How You Lose Her” and “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize.

Panel to discuss language’s impact on health disparities

The Division of Public Safety and Security will host a panel discussion on how differences in language among cultures can affect the care African-American patients and families receive in health care settings.

Click here for the full MLK Symposium calendar of events.